Amy Caughey

Amy Caughey is a public health nutritionist in Nunavut, working on Inuit country food, food security, diabetes education, prenatal nutrition, and zoonotic disease prevention and food safety in the Arctic. Over 20 years, she has worked with and learned from families, Elders, hunters, researchers, health professionals, and Inuit organizations across Nunavut. She is a registered dietitian with an MSc in Human Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Aberdeen, and recently completed a PhD in Public Health at the University of Guelph focused on Inuit country food and nutrition in early life. Amy is of Euro-Canadian settler ancestry from rural Ontario and now lives in Iqaluit with her family.

Naomi Tatty

Naomi Tatty is the Inuit Intercultural Lead at SeeChange Initiative. A former tuberculosis health worker with the Government of Nunavut, she led the Inuit Intergenerational Healing Journey, bringing survivors and family members to former TB sanatoriums in Hamilton, Ontario, to confront a history that displaced thousands of Inuit for treatment, many of whom never returned home. Her work bridges frontline health experience with community-based healing, grounded in Inuit knowledge and lived understanding of how TB has shaped generations of families across Inuit Nunangat. Naomi is also a longstanding community activist, working across health, culture, and intergenerational wellbeing.

Carol Devine (Event Moderator)

Carol Devine is a Humanitarian Affairs Advisor with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada. She co-leads a project on climate, environment and health for MSF and has contributed to the 2018 Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change. Carol has worked with MSF in Rwanda, East Timor, Peru and South Sudan as humanitarian advisor and was the Canadian liaison for MSF's Access to Essential Medicines Campaign. She's also a writer, conceptual artist and social scientist who's led and participated in ocean pollution and research initiatives in the UK, Arctic and Antarctic. 

Sara Ferwati (Event Moderator)

Sara Ferwati is a mental health epidemiologist, strategically positioned at the intersection of public health, climate action, and health system innovation in the Government of Nunavut, Canada. Tasked with the mission of addressing mental health issues, particularly mental illnesses and suicide, she shapes health indicators, builds comprehensive databases, and designs efficient surveillance tools. This work assists in better understanding and addressing mental health needs in the territory. This experience has exposed her to the stark realities of mental health challenges and the need for innovative solutions.

Dr. Rene Loewenson, FRSPH, TARSC/EQUINET, Zimbabwe

Rene is a Zimbabwean epidemiologist, public health practitioner and Director of the Training and Research Support Centre. She has since 1980 implemented and led research consortia, including on participatory action research, policy analysis, training and mentoring of work focusing on equity in health, social and commercial determinants of health, health impact assessment and health systems. She is a founder member of EQUINET and has been a technical/strategic advisor to UN.

Mr. Lyman Mlambo, Zimbabwe Country Manager, AEGT Zimbabwe

Lyman is an independent mining policy consultant and an adjunct lecturer of mineral economics at the University of Zimbabwe. He was a mineral economics research fellow and chairperson of the Institute of Mining Research (University of Zimbabwe) for several years. He holds a BSc and MSc in economics, and a certificate in mineral resource valuation.

Mr. Philippe Dunia, Researcher, Centre of Expertise and mining governance (CEGEMi-Catholic University of Bukavu); DRCongo; PhD. Student at IOB-Uantwerpen

Phillipe has a masters degree in development studies, with a special focus on development, environment and society from the University of Liege and the Catholic University of Louvain. He is now doing his PhD in Development studies at the University of Antwerp. His doctoral research focuses on social protection in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in the DR Congo.

Mr. Derrick Bwalya, Research Associate, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) Zambia

Derrick holds a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental studies and a Master of Science in the same field from the University of Zambia. He is a Research Associate at Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) in Lusaka, Zambia. He is also a research assistant on the African Extractivism and Green Transition (AEGT) project. He has over 10 years of experience in coordinating projects including health impact assessments, population, politics and democracy, environmental and climate change projects